MEAT WORKERS' DISPUTE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 9, 12 January 1926, Page 4

MEAT WORKERS' DISPUTE.

MEN REDUCE KILLINGS. COMPANIES' COUNTER ACTION' (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) "CHRISTCHURCH, this day. Notices were posted in all the Canterbury freezing works yesterday stat ; ng that the rate of killing "shall he four per hour." The notices were posted by order of the compamies. On Friday afternoon and Saturday morning slaughtermen in the Canterbury works reduced the killing rate to four per hour or thereabouts, which is rather lees than half the normal killing rate. To-day it appears that the action of the butchers was not the same at all works and that there was at least some ground for suspicion that an attempt was being made, by giving different companies different treatment, to play off one company against another. No information whatever about the notice or purpose of it was obtainable from the companies, but the notices were posted, and it is understood that the action of the companies was a concerted retort to irritation tactics against them. When the works had been manned after the New Year holidaj's a demand was made by the union for an increase of the killing rate for butchers. The award rate is £1 16/ for lambs and £1 18/6 for sheep. The demand was considered by the companies and it was not granted. Mr. C. G. Wilkin, secretary of the South Island Freezing Companies' Association, said the companies very much regretted that they had been forced to dispense with the services of a number of assistants in the slaughterhouses, but the butchers reduced the killing rate on Friday and kept a slow rate on Saturday morning. This reduced considerably tbe output of *tbe works and such assistants as were in excess of the number required to cope with the reduced output were paid off at noon on Saturday. The works are just resuming after the slack season, and the men thrown out of work are losing the opportunity of earning their usual wages. It will be apparent to anyone that when the output is reduced to one-half or onethird of normal a certain number of those workers who are subsidiary to the slaughtermen are rendered idle. A full complement of assistants was engaged to cope with the normal output of the works on the assumption, of course, that killings would go on at the normal rate. Mr. Wilkin said he had the figures for two works and these could be taken as fairly representative of the earnings of the men at other works as well. "These figures before mc," said Mr. Wilkin, "show that the slaughtermen actually earned for last week £7 12/6. This pay covered the period of Friday aftenoon and Saturday morning, when killings were restricted. Had the killings not been restricted their earnings would have amounted to about £9 1/ per man for competent slaughtermen, so that the reduced rate of working has involved a loss to such slaughtermen of £1 8/6 per man. In a normal killing week competent slaughtermen earn round about £10." AT HAWSE'S BAT. BIGGER PAY EEFUSED. NAPIER, Monday. A demand for an increase of half a crown per hundred made by the butchers in the Hawke's-Bay freezing works has been declined by the employers. At a meeting of the men to-night it was resolved to take no further steps in the matter at present. With reference to the Canterbury dispute it was resolved to give financial assistance if possible.